Reading format

One pointlessly heated discussion that seems to occur with painful regularity in reading circles is which book format is superior. Do you prefer audio, or digital, or paper, or papyrus, or clay tablets? Personally I can’t see anyone topping the long-term data retention of carving stuff into stone cave walls. Bit time-consuming for authors though.

When this discussion starts everyone rolls out their usual banal reasoning for their preferred format. Without fail someone will talk about the smell of dead tree books (DTB), or the feel of eviscerated tree flesh in their fingers, or refer to some dodgy research that denigrates e-books. For some reason the reading world is filled with technophobic troglodytes intent on proving that their old-fashioned way of doing things is better.

Currently I read books in three different formats: DTB, e-book, audiobook. I like reading all three formats and they have various advantages and disadvantages. I have many fond memories of dead trees. The time I used one to level a table with an uneven leg. The time I threw one at the TV on election night. The time I used a bag full of them to prop open a door with a hydraulic hinge. Good times. I’m sure I have some fond memories of e-books and audiobooks…

Let’s run through a few pros and cons of the three formats.

DTB Pros:

• They are a book.
• You can read them.
• They make you look smart/nerdy when you have lots of them on shelves.
• Can turn to the end of the book to see if that character actually died.

DTB Cons:

• Being a physical entity they have to be physically moved to your house.
• Generally more expensive than an e-book.
• Are heavy and awkward to hold.
• Hate having tea spilt on them.
• Can’t stop a .45 slug, despite claims to the contrary.

E-book Pros:

• They are a book.
• You can read them.
• When you want another you just download it instantly.
• Everyone thinks you are reading the latest political biography when you are really engrossed in the love triangle between a teenage girl, a 100-year-old pedophile, and a smelly dog (yes I got dragged to the Twilight films by my wife).
• Text can be resized.

E-book Cons:

• E-books can’t be used to start a fire in a life threatening situation.
• E-book files won’t be forever, but the database will be, which means updating your collection.
• E-readers cost money too.
  • Dedicated e-readers are the domain of avid readers, everyone else can just read on their phone or tablet.
• Hate having tea spilt on them.
• E-readers are even less likely to stop a .45 slug.

Audiobook Pros:

• They are a book.
• You can read them.*
• Can be read when you’re doing something else.
  • Exercising and reading is a personal favourite.
  • Certainly a better way to read when driving.

Audiobook Cons:

• Can be expensive.
  • Are becoming cheaper in digital versions.
• Some voice actors don’t have great voices, nor acting.
• Takes longer to read… unless you read by sounding out the vowels still.
• Are probably the least likely to stop a .45 slug.

What is my key point out of all of this? If you like reading you will like reading regardless of the format. The medium isn’t the message.

The reality is that we have to stop with the snobbery of the format wars. Every format has benefits to enjoy. Every person I have met who has bravely tried e-books and audiobooks has commented that they were unsure until they made the leap. Then they fell in love with all the formats.

I love books in all their forms, you should too.

*Yeah, go ahead and try and argue that point. I dare you.